Marguerite's Daughter
by Heart's Love
Summary: A suprising person shows up in the jungle one day, Marguerite's daughter. The explorers learn more about her life before the plateau than ever before.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the lost world

MARGUERITE'S DAUGHTER

As the explorers were walking, they heard a scream reverberate through the jungle. Marguerite went rigid for a second before rushing in the direction of the scream with the rest. In a rare act of speed, she actually bypassed Veronica in running. They came into a clearing where what appeared to be a village's warriors were attacking a small group of people, the scream having come from the young woman with vibrant red hair currently being manhandled. Faster than they'd ever seen her move, Marguerite took out her gun yelling at the warriors, "Unhand my daughter!" before shooting into the air, scaring the men off.

Without paying any attention to the others' shocked expressions, she strode right up to the woman and hugged her. They saw a look of relief in her eyes while she hugged the lady, as if glad that she was in one piece. The woman she was hugging also had a look of relief in her bright blue eyes and even sighed in relief, "Mom."

The word seemed bring her back to reality, for she gently pushed the lady to where she could look her in the face. "Elizabeth, how'd you get?"

"You had money in the bank under both our names, remember?"

"Oh. Well, where's…" Marguerite started, looking around. Her eyes fell on a young, black man, "there you are, Michael. You never go anywhere without each other." Her eyes fell on the man standing next to him. "Summerlee! Ah, so that is why you're here. Nobody else believed him I assume, and you just took it upon yourself to fund the three of you coming here," She commented as she and the others hugged their old friend in welcome.

Elizabeth looked a little guilty and said, "Well, we did have a guide with us, but he was killed…"

"Let me guess, while the way you took onto the plateau was destroyed," Marguerite interrupted.

"Yeah, how…"

"That's how it always is." She looked around finally noticing the looks she was getting. "You probably all want an explanation, don't you?" Everyone nodded. "Well, let's get back to the tree house, these three must be starving," she said before grabbing Michael and Elizabeth and starting them along. The whole way back, she was asking them questions about their trip and the way they used onto the plateau. Meanwhile, the others caught up with Summerlee.

When they finally got to the tree house, Marguerite went immediately to the kitchen to make lunch in order to avoid any questions. While she did that, everyone sat at the table in an awkward silence. No one knew what to say about this new development concerning Marguerite. She kept such a tight control on what they knew of her past, but they thought she would tell about something like having a daughter, especially one that looked way to old, about eighteen, for her to be Marguerite's. Roxton was having an especially hard time with this turn of events.

When Marguerite brought the food, they began to eat in silence. However, after his first bite, Malone exclaimed, "This is really good. Marguerite, you've been holding out on us."

"What do you mean? Mom's a great cook," Elizabeth stated.

"You must be kidding. She has burnt and destroyed more meals than I can count," Roxton replied.

Elizabeth just turned toward her mother, "She must have been doing it to get out of working. She never likes to do chores."

Veronica smiled, "That sounds like our Marguerite, always complaining about doing her share."

"Yeah, but I bet you don't know that she has good reason to not want to work. However, despite that, she never let's anyone do all the work, which is actually because of the same reason."

"Enough, Elizabeth, they don't need to know everything. I happen to like my privacy, you know."

"Is that why you never told them about me?" The young woman asked, hurt showing in her face.

"Oh, Liz, it was never that I didn't want them to. It's not that I am ashamed, I'm not. I just never found the right time to tell them." Marguerite went into mother mode immediately, hugging. "It's a hard thing to just bring up in a conversation. Besides, I was afraid that if I let them know about you, I would end up missing you more as result, and I just couldn't handle that."

This Motherly side left everyone with the exception of Michael and Summerlee, who'd been on the receiving end before, in shock. Assured that her daughter was feeling better, she looked around at the others, "Now I think I promised you an explanation. I guess it would be easier if you asked a question and I answered."

"And it will be easier for you to keep some things secret still," Roxton remarked, earning a glare.

Malone was the first to speak up, "How old are you?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Well, it's just that she looks to be about eighteen…"

"I am," Elizabeth interrupted.

"…And you don't look old enough to have a daughter that old."

Marguerite sighed, "I'm not her real mother that's why. I guess I really should just start at the beginning. I was ten at the convent. It was a stormy night, and I was going about making sure everything was shut while everyone else ate dinner. Any chance they got, they made sure I wasn't eating with them. Anyway, I had just finished with every room, except the one they were all currently in. I was starting in when I heard it first. I wasn't sure what it was, but decided that it probably wasn't anything and continued with my chores. But I heard it again, about when I got to the window closest to the mother superior. This time I knew what it was. It was a baby crying. The nuns and other girls all looked at me like I was crazy when I ran out of the door and into the rain. I found her near a tree with a note saying to take care of her. I rushed her into the dining room, but they were reluctant to call the doctor and have to care for another like me.

"When the doctor got there, he determined that she was between 3 days to a week old. He made sure she was well before leaving. The nuns decided that since I found her and brought another orphan upon them, I should take care of her, exclusively. They wanted to have nothing to do with taking care of her and I wasn't to let it interfere with my chores. They placed the crib inside my room and that was all they would do for us."

"That's horrible," Veronica exclaimed, indignantly. "You were only a child. How were you supposed to care for a baby properly? In fact, what type of person would expect you to?"

"The nuns apparently." Marguerite answered, dryly. "Anyway, it was hard, I did do it. And much to their chagrin, I did it without it interfering with my chores, which seemed to have doubled from all the housework to all the yard work as well. I would take her with me everywhere I went. I did everything I could for her. From the moment I first held her and saw the reaction of the nuns toward her, I made a promise to her. That I would make sure that her childhood was so much better than mine. And I can only hope that I succeeded." Marguerite cut off, looking away with tears in her eyes.

"It was, Mom. It was the best childhood I could ever ask for," Elizabeth was quick to reassure Marguerite.

Marguerite gave her a watery smile before continuing, "We spent eight years in the convent. I remember her growing up like it was just yesterday; her first steps, her first words, which were mama, of course, and that made me so happy. I remember her terrible twos. It was hilarious, because half of her tantrums were aimed at the mother superior. I will always remember that woman's reaction to being yelled at by a two year old. Of course, at the time I was terrified of what she would do, but looking back it was so funny.

"Of course, when I turned eighteen, I immediately got both of us out of there. However, I was a single mother without a job, and with an eight year old. It was about the time I had reached desperation that I met Adrienne. She helped me out a lot. She took pity on us, gave us a place to stay and got me a job as well. She quickly wormed her way into our little family. Elizabeth loved her new aunt, and I finally had a friend. Things were good for the next year. However, as always, things went downhill. Adrienne wanted to get more money for us quickly. We were just barely getting by and we were both worried about Elizabeth growing up in such a bad part town. So, she got us involved with the bad sort of people who were patrons where we worked. Everything was supposed to be only for a little while, and then we would leave, go away and live the lives of the upper class. We just kept getting sucked in more and more, though. When Adrienne settled on a dangerous way out, I decided to just leave. I didn't care about the money, that we were supposed to have been making but didn't, anymore. My only concern was for Elizabeth. The night I was going to leave, was the night that Adrienne was killed.

"So I just left. I was twenty by then. Elizabeth was ten. I was in London when I met a man. He was handsome, wealthy, and, more importantly, interested in me. I believed myself in love with him. He not only seemed to love me, but Liz as well so when he asked me to marry him two months into our relationship, I didn't hesitate to say yes. But I was so young and still naïve in the ways of love, despite my worldly experience from the past two years. He changed within the first week. He was no longer the nice, kind man that I thought I loved. I wanted the security he provided so much, however, that I stayed with him anyway. It wasn't like he did anything to Liz. A year later, when I lost the baby, he killed himself from shame and I inherited everything."

The others were listening intently. This is the most that Marguerite had ever told them about herself, and they were astonished by what she had been through. It amazed them what she had been able to make it through, and they knew that she wasn't telling them everything, just enough to give them a basic idea. However, what they had heard made her actions while with them on the plateau that first year, and some of them since, make more sense.

Marguerite continued, "When we had first moved in, the servants' names were Richard and Emily Smith. While my husband and I weren't to be considered a family, that's what they became. They were almost like an older brother and sister to me, still are in fact. Better yet, they had a son the same age as Liz, Michael here. They became best friends immediately and what his parents and I labeled the terrible duo. They were always getting in trouble.

"Anyway, I went about the next year just being a widow, a mother, and a member of the little family the Smiths, Elizabeth, and I made up. But, a little after my twenty-second birthday, my past seemed to catch up with me. I was contacted by a member of the government. My past actions, it seemed, would be pardoned if I agreed to work on the side of the Allies. Of course, I agreed. If I didn't, they would take Liz away from me. So I was sent to Paris. My job was to search out traitors and German sympathizers. That's how I earned the nickname, the black widow. I married a total of five men there, all of whom were found to be higher ups, and once I had gotten all the info I could from them, they were executed, and it was made to look like someone other that me so that I could continue to operate. However, the last time, I was caught in the act and an alarm was raised. I had to leave in a hurry. I should have quit then and there. I was intrigued though, and to tell the truth, I was having fun. As a result, I was reassigned to Cairo. Then, I was assigned a short while to Shanghai under the pretense of needing money. I was supposed to help bring the crime boss down, but obviously I couldn't. I did however get the ouroborus, as you all know.

"When the war was over, I remained on the payroll. It served as a great source of income and I could actually use my talents. Besides, as long as I worked for the crown, Liz was promised protection from all the enemies I had made. So, I continued to do small jobs, but for the most part I stayed at home with Elizabeth. When I heard about Challenger and the expedition he was putting together, I figured that was my best bet. I could get away from Europe to let things die down, and I could search for the ouroborus while I was away. I hadn't counted on getting lost, though. If I had known that would happen, I never would have come and left Liz, who during my time away spying stayed under the care of the Smiths. I was given some time with her in between assignments over those years. I missed her terribly and that was what got me through those years. So that is the story of me being a mother, good or bad," Marguerite ended, waiting for the judgments of her new family.

Silence hung in the air. Even Summerlee, who knew some of the story already obviously, was quiet from the shock of what they had been told. Elizabeth and Michael were silent because they already knew the whole story, including the parts that the others weren't told. They were willing the others to accept this, though, because Marguerite had been let down by too many people she trusted for them not to.

Finn was the first to do anything. She didn't break the silence by saying something profound, but she did the best thing for Marguerite. She hugged her. The act alone bringing tears to both of their eyes. They were soon joined by an equally as tearful Veronica. It quickly became a group hug as the guys of the house soon joined in showing their support to the heiress. Elizabeth and Michael watched on in approval.

When they broke apart, Marguerite was surprised to see the pride in her shining in all their eyes, especially those of a certain hunter. She turned toward her daughter and Michael, "Now, you two, there are rules here that if you want to survive _will_ have to obeyed, no exceptions. If you don't, and you live, I'll kill you myself."

"Marguerite, isn't that kind of harsh?" Malone asked.

"Not if you're referring to these two trouble makers," Marguerite retorted.

"Oh, come now, mom, we're not that bad."

"Need I remind you of when you were twelve?"

'Okay, so we _accidentally _got on a ship once."

"YOU WENT TO CHINA!"

"How were we to know the ship was going to China?" Elizabeth asked, obviously having known that the ship had been going there.

"And then, when you got there, you didn't even bother to try to get in touch. You both had all of us going crazy with worry. If it hadn't been for Mr. Littleman, I may never have found you."

"I TOLD you that was Mr. Littleman we saw," Elizabeth exclaimed, turning to Michael.

"I never said that it wasn't," he replied.

"Yes, you did. Anyway, one time is not enough to call us trouble makers," Elizabeth stated turning back to her mother.

"What about New York?"

"Oh yeah, that was fun," Michael said in remembrance. The glare Marguerite sent his way had him sputtering out, "I-I mean, it was completely wrong of us, and we are sorry that we ever did it."

Elizabeth giggled at her friend and managed a "yeah, that was good save, really."

Finn, who along with the others was deeply enjoying the scene unfolding before them, let curiosity get the best of her and asked, "What happened in New York?"

"First, these two decided to sneak themselves onto yet another ship, which took them to New York. There they went to some wild parties, met up with the mob, and did who knows what else that they never told me. All I know is that when I finally did catch up with them, they were drunk, and it looked like Liz was about to become a whore."  
"I was not!" Liz shouted, indignantly.

"You were being led into a brothel."

"I WAS NOT!"

"How would you know, you were drunk!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Michael interjected, "We were not drunk. We were just a little tipsy."

"You were, too! You both could barely talk, let alone walk."

"Well…,"Elizabeth paused, searching for a comeback. She continued lamely, "That was only twice. You can't base anything off of what happens only two times."

"Only two times? What about Paris?"

Both Michael and Liz got dreamy looks on their faces. Liz made the comment, "Oh, yeah, I remember that. That was so pretty."

"Yeah, it was so much fun," Michael commented.

They both received a glare from Marguerite. It took a while for them to notice, however, when they did, Liz exclaimed, "It was all his fault."

"_My_ fault? You're the one who decided to steal the fireworks."

"You're the one who wanted to do something cool."

"So that makes it all my fault?"

"Yeah."

"Hush! The point is that there are some rules here that you cannot break like you have in the past," Marguerite interrupted. "The first of which is no going into the jungle alone."

"We can take care of ourselves," Liz said, indignantly. "You taught us how to fend for ourselves."

"I taught you to take care of yourselves in London, or someplace like it. This Jungle, while yes it does hold some of the same dangers as the city, holds extremely different ones. So, in order for you to stay alive, you will always go with someone else, and Michael doesn't count."

"Hey," Michael protested.

"Sorry, Michael, it's just that neither of you are prepared for the jungle so going out together doesn't really help. At least, not for a while. If you go, you are to go with someone older in this tree house.

"So, basically, you don't want us to go anywhere without you," Elizabeth stated.

"Preferably, however I know that won't always be possible so if not me, then Roxton, Veronica, or Finn."

"What about us?" Challenger inquired, indicating him and Malone. Summerlee wasn't about to argue with her; he knew they wouldn't be any safer with him.

"Challenger, you are too easily distracted and Malone too apt to getting his head bashed in to be trusted with their safety." Marguerite stated. Turning back to her daughter, "The second rule is that you are NEVER, under any circumstances, to leave the safety of the tree house without a weapon of some kind. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'm," both answered.

"Okay, then, I guess I should properly introduce you all. Michael Smith, Elizabeth Krux, this is Ned Malone, George Challenger, Veronica Layton, and Lord John Roxton, and Finn." Everyone said their hellos. "Okay now that that's over with, you three must be tired. Summerlee, you're room is exactly as you left it. Elizabeth can sleep in my room, and Michael…"

"Can share my room," Summerlee offered.

"Okay then, I'll go get the wood for extra beds tomorrow. You can share a bed tonight?" Veronica asked, receiving nods from all four.

"Well, I guess you should go take a nap. I'll show you the room, Liz. In fact, I may even join you," Marguerite said while they were leaving the room.

The others remained where they were to discuss what happened. Roxton was the first to speak up, "We all knew that her past was hard, but I guess we didn't have a clue as to just how hard."

"Yeah, can you imagine, taking care of a baby at the age of ten? I don't think anyone else could have done it," Veronica added.

"It must have been difficult, and to think, I never had any because I never thought I could handle taking care of them. At least I was an adult," Challenger said.

"I think that isn't the only hard part of her life. Notice what she didn't mention? And what she did? Like that thing about the nuns and her chores and how she wasn't supposed to eat with everyone?" Finn asked.

"Marguerite is the only woman, or person really, that I know that can give you so much information, and it not really be that much of anything specific," Malone said, while laughing.

"Well, I do know one thing: we are going to be seeing sides of the mysterious Ms. Krux that we never have before," Challenger stated.

"Yeah, but I'm sure we can handle it like we always have," Finn replied.

"I don't think they're going to be bad sides, Finn," Veronica told the younger girl.

"Yeah, but I'm sure things will be interesting, and probably harder for her, from now on," Malone added.

Roxton spoke up, "Whatever comes, we'll be there help her through it." Everyone agreed with this statement profusely.

A/N: Well, thats it. I tried waiting to post this until I thought of more to go with this story, but this is all I could think of. I know it's a sucky place to end it, so if anyone feels like continuing it, they can. Also, I was wondering if ya'll could help me find two stories. One is where Marguerite was wrongly accused of stealing something causing a war between Assai's village and another so she takes off and most of the story is about her leading Roxton all over the place. The other is they take in a baby and Marguerite is against it. However, she takes care of it when the others can't notice. Then there is a big fight where Roxton calls her a bad mother and she runs off. They find out later that its because she used to have a child herself. If anyone can tell me the names of these stories, I would greatly appreciate it because I have searched and searched for them like a hundred times and can't find them. Thanks. I hope you liked the story.


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